Sommerleigh Pollonais, Senior Writer
Plot: In a world where supervillains are commonplace two estranged childhood best friends reunite after one devises a treatment that gives them powers to protect their city.
Review: This movie was written and directed by Ben Falcone (Tammy, The Boss, Life of the Party, Superintelligence). Even if you don’t know his name, you’ve seen his face in nearly every movie starring Melissa McCarthy. That’s because he’s her husband and they work together frequently. That bit of trivia aside, Ben Falcone doesn’t make good movies, and Thunder Force doesn’t break that streak.
It’s a weird mix of kids Disney movie but with R-Rated language sprinkled in between. It’s simplistic, it’s mediocre, and guess what? I ENJOYED THE HELL OUT OF IT! Melissa McCarthy once again does Melissa McCarthy. Octavia Spencer is a great actress, but comedy is definitely not her strong suit.
Bobby Carnavale (Ant-Man), Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), and Pom Klementieff (Mantis in the MCU) all do serviceable jobs with their roles, but they don’t have that much to do. And with the talents these three possess it’s a shame they didn’t get to cut loose more. Again, it comes back to Falcone’s weird directing choices and the tone of this movie, which acts like it wants to be appealing to kids and adults alike. If he picked a lane and stuck with it, he would’ve had a better movie.
Maybe it’s because I never expected anything great from this movie—I honestly didn’t even expect it to be that funny—but strangely enough, I laughed a lot while watching this. You could tell a lot of the lines were ad libbed and most of it worked well for me. There’s also a sense that the actors KNOW this isn’t a great movie and they’re just having fun with it. I mean, let’s be realistic, no one is expecting this to stand toe to toe with MCU or DC films. And if you do, well, that’s on you. For me, this movie was just the right amount of stupid. And while I don’t see myself adding it to any of my favourites lists, I in no way regret watching it.
It’s a dumb movie that knows it’s a dumb movie, and you know what? I’m okay with that.
Sommer’s Score: 4 out of 10
Guilty Pleasure Score: 6.5 out of 10
So what did you think of Thunder Force? For even more Melissa McCarthy you can check out my review of Superintelligence by clicking here. Or for more superhero action served with some laughs you can check out Editor Jules’s review of Freaks: You’re One of Us by clicking here.
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes.
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